1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a charging fluid intake module for an internal combustion engine with a housing that is configured to form a flow path for a gaseous charging fluid, wherein a heat exchanger for the gaseous charging fluid is arranged in the housing.
2. Description of the Background Art
A gaseous charging fluid intake module serves to supply the gaseous charging fluids needed for a combustion process in an internal combustion engine, in particular in the form of charge air or a charge air/gas mixture, which is preferably compressed.
In addition, concepts for charge air cooling serve, among other things, to reduce pollutants, in particular nitrogen oxides, in the exhaust gas. One such concept is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,143, for example, in which a heat exchanger in the form of an intercooler designed as a separate component is provided for cooling the charge air.
In addition, an especially space-saving variant can be implemented by the means that—as in the aforementioned charging fluid intake module—a heat exchanger for the gaseous charging fluid, in particular charge air, is arranged in the intake plenum. Such a charging fluid intake module is described in DE 10 2004 025 187 B3, for example.
In another, further-reaching concept, exhaust gas recirculation is carried out, as described in, e.g., US 2006/0060172, for purposes including reducing fuel consumption and reducing pollutants in an internal combustion engine, such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine. In this process, an exhaust gas is regularly cooled by means of a separate, external heat exchanger in the form of an exhaust gas recirculator cooler. In so doing, and possibly as a function of the engine operating point, a partial stream of the exhaust gas is taken from behind the engine, cooled in a heat exchanger in the form of an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler, and then mixed into the intake air. The quantity of exhaust gas that can be recirculated depends on the pressure drop between the exhaust gas side and the intake side and on the operating behavior of the engine.
Thus a distinction is drawn between high pressure exhaust gas recirculation and low pressure exhaust gas recirculation, for example. In high pressure exhaust gas recirculation, exhaust gas recirculation takes place between pipe sections that are under comparatively high pressure, for example through an exhaust gas recirculation line that exits on the engine exhaust side ahead of an exhaust driven turbine and enters on the engine intake side after a compressor. In contrast to this, low pressure exhaust gas recirculation generally takes place through an exhaust gas recirculation line between pipe sections that are under comparatively low pressure, for example through an exhaust gas recirculation line that exits on the engine exhaust side after an exhaust driven turbine and enters on the engine intake side ahead of a compressor. The performance or throughput of an exhaust gas recirculation system is generally determined by the volume (quantity) of recirculated exhaust gas that can be delivered, and hence by the available pressure difference. In the case of a low pressure exhaust gas recirculation system, a pressure difference—also called a scavenging drop—at the compressor is the critical factor, and can be increased if necessary for an exhaust gas quantity recirculated through an EGR cooler. In the case of a high pressure exhaust gas recirculation system, only the pressure difference between an engine exhaust side and an engine intake side is typically available for the exhaust gas flow rate.
Thus, for example, in the case of a high pressure exhaust gas recirculation system, the admixture of an exhaust gas into a compressed charge air normally takes place in the section between an intake pipe and an intercooler, as is the case in DE 10 2004 025 187 B3, for instance.